Paycen sat on the beach with his feet shoved in the sand. It was the early hours of Thursday morning and he was supposed to be asleep. Due to the fact that Anna and Shawn were in his room, he hadn't slept very much. Emery had gotten on to him as he went to bed in his room. What he didn't realize was that Anna was still mad at him. She wasn't as mad as Aggie but she was mad.
He had never thought he'd find her. His job was too hectic and now with school he pretty much had no free time. He was either working or finishing up his residency. With two more months left to go, he could see the light at the end of the tunnel. He was very lucky many of his professors were in one Kingdom or the other. So when Anna popped up five days ago, he had to rethink his priorities.
He looked at her and knew that she was his. It was hard to push away the feelings and the power he felt when he was around her. As of right now, she didn't want to talk about it. Well, he didn't want to talk about it because he had a feeling she was going to overanalyze the entire thing and make his head hurt. Right now he had another major thing going on.
Aiden never left home for more than a day. She was in San Diego because she claimed she was here to help them. He didn't know if he believed it. Aiden was the Truth Hearer of their people. Other people couldn't lie in front of her and they weren't sure if she could lie or not. If she could, it meant she was here for another reason. He didn't care. His job was to protect her.
The back door to the house slammed against the siding. He heard Serge bark once then come running towards him. The dopey dog ran as fast as he could to the water and started barking at the waves as they lapped at the shore. He slapped a paw at the water to keep it where it was. When he realized it was gone, he started barking again.
"Serge!" he heard. "Serge, where are you?"
"He's down here," Paycen replied.
He watched as a little blond head appeared over the hill. Shawn carefully made her way down the hill and sat down in his lap. She giggled when she watched the dog repeat his previous actions as he tried to hold onto the water.
"Why are you up?" he asked.
"Serge had to go out. Abby said you were here and that I could come out with him. Mommy's in the kitchen making breakfast," she answered. She abandoned her watching of the dog and turned in his lap. She pulled at the silver chain around his neck. "What's this?"
"It's an infinity necklace. We all wear them."
"Can I have one?" He slipped the chain from over his head and over hers. She gasped and tried to take it off. "I can't take this. Mommy would be mad."
"Call it a gift."
She smiled then rested her head on his chest. He watched her play with the pendent for a few minutes. She was so much like her mother. He wondered about her father and what he would have been like if he had lived.
"Mr. Paycen?"
"Hmm?"
"Are you and my mommy going to get together?"
"That depends on your mommy. She has all the answers on this one."
He seemed to have appeased her for the time being. She was happy to sit with him and watch the dog act like an idiot. Serge had abandoned trying to eat the water. Now he was trying to catch something at the bottom of the surf. He was still barking up a storm but it was muffled by the water.
"Shawn! Breakfast's ready!"
Anna's voice pierced the quietness of the moment. Paycen stood and tossed Shawn over his shoulder. She squealed then giggled as she wrapped her arms around his waist. Serge came after them, barking happily because Shawn was squealing.
Anna watched as Paycen walked with Shawn back up the hill. Serge surged up the hill and would have run into the door had she not opened it. She watched as Shawn talked as she held Paycen's hand. He answered whatever question she threw at him and did it with a smile.
She held open the door for them as they came to the back porch. Shawn ran through first and jumped up on a chair at the bar. She smiled at Paycen as he came through the door.
"Mommy! Look what Mr. Paycen gave me!" Shawn said. She held up the necklace.
Anna looked at the necklace then up at Paycen. He poured two cups of coffee and brought one to her before he settled down next to Shawn. The little girl smiled up at him then reached for her juice.
"You didn't have to give her anything," she said.
Paycen shrugged. "It's nothing. I can always get another one. Everyone who works around Aiden and Mikey wears one. It's kind of like their unofficial symbol."
"Mommy, what's for breakfast?" Shawn asked.
Anna was glad for the distraction. It gave her time to fix two plates. Shawn would stuff her face so she and Paycen could talk.
She turned around and set two plates on the bar. Shawn's face lit up. She picked up her fork and dove head first into her breakfast. She didn't take a breath. Paycen was more subdued as he started eating his share. He started making Shawn laugh once again as he began taking pieces of her food from her plate. She swatted at his hand, laughing around her fork.
Anna couldn't help but laugh at them. "All right, children. That's enough. Shawn, go get ready for school."
When the girl was gone, she leaned against the counter and watched him. It wasn't strange because he was watching her as well. She wondered if he was reading her mind like the others had been last night. His mouth turned up slightly, telling her he was. She put her hands on her hips.
"It's only the forefront, where the thoughts are located. It's a habit we really can't shake," he defended.
"It's still invasive," she argued.
"Would you rather me be invasive or let you die? That's the only way I can find you if you're in trouble."
She stared at him. Not many men would argue with a police detective but here Paycen was. Usually she would shut him down but she had no idea how to handle a situation like this. She had the skills to handle normal murder and hostage situation. Not that murder was normal. These instances were completely different. They were dealing with supernatural humans who had the ability to kill without touching someone. It would make sense if they pulled normal humans in to do their dirty work.
"Tell me about what would go into the bond," she said.
Paycen swallowed the forkful of food. "It's a bite."
She wrinkled her nose. "A bite? Like a vampire bite?"
"Kind of, but not quite. It allows me to push some of my power into you. The power then forms a mark on your skin. All of this binds you to me. It will give you the ability to calm me like you did last night. I will be able to find you wherever you are. Plus the telepathy we will share will be deeper and more personal than what you've seen with us."
"What about Shawn?"
"Shawn will be fine. You've done well with getting her into a school that tolerates our kind. She will grow up unlike we did. Now our kids won't have to hide who they are. I'm not saying there won't be some kids who will try to make a difference and inadvertently make some things worse. It's inevitable. We can't stop them. All we can do is raise them in the hopes that they will follow in our footsteps."
Anna took time to think about what he just said. He would raise his children to protect each other and make sure they knew how to treat people. If she did this, Shawn would have a father figure who would raise her to respect people who are different from her. She already respected them but it would still help.
The little girl in question was giggling as she rode Serge back into the kitchen. The dog had her backpack in his mouth and was literally prancing as he walked in. He stopped by Paycen and looked up, his tongue rolling out of his mouth in what looked like a happy smile. The backpack dropped to the floor with a thunk. Shawn slid off his back and grabbed his face. She pressed her face to his. Serge whined happily as he stared into her blue eyes.
Abby walked around the corner with a set of car keys. She was dressed as if she was going on a mission except her black tank was replaced with a blue one. She wrapped a friendly arm around Paycen's neck then stooped down to pick up the pink backpack.
"Are you ready?" she asked Shawn.
"Yeah. Mommy, did you pack my lunch?" the girl asked.
Anna turned and pulled the pink lunchbox from the counter. She handed it to her daughter then gave her a noisy kiss. Shawn laughed then ran around the bar to give Paycen a hug. He scooped her up and tossed her over his shoulder, smiling at the way she laughed hysterically. When he righted her, her face was red but she was smiling. She gave him a big kiss then wriggled down. Abby handed her the backpack.
"Thanks for taking her to school," Anna said.
Abby smiled. "I really didn't have a choice. It was an order."
Paycen met Anna's confused gaze. "Keldin thought it would be safer if someone watched over Shawn. We've already talked to the school."
"That wasn't your concern!" Anna exclaimed.
He raised an eyebrow that made her rethink her tone. "Whatever goes on with you and Shawn is my business. Nature decided that when they made you my mate. What happens to Shawn affects you. What happens to you affects me. It's going to be this way until we can figure out who is behind this. There is no room to argue."
Abby held up her hand when Anna went to do just that. "It's not a smart idea to argue with the men when they've made a decision."
"Then how will I get a say in what goes on in the relationship?" Anna demanded.
"You talk about it, but don't argue because he's going to do it until you understand what kind of danger is really out there." Abby looked at the clock. "I'll be going now. See you this afternoon."
"We'll be working late so figure something out for dinner," Paycen replied.
"You got it."
Anna watched the other woman leave the house to take her daughter to school. Not used to having anyone other than her mother handle her daughter, she was slightly nervous. She shouldn't be because these people had been nothing but nice to her and her family. They were helping her when she desperately needed it.
Paycen looked over her shoulder at the clock. He downed the last of his coffee and headed for the sink. After rinsing out his cup, he grabbed his phone and keys. He watched as she grabbed her shoes and bag. She looked at him when she was ready.
He grabbed her hand without a word and walked towards the darkest corner of the room. Serge bounded after them but one sharp word had him halting. He plopped his big butt down and smiled at them as Paycen pulled Anna into his arms.
Anna didn't have a chance to say a word as she was pulled into darkness.